Falling Into Place
by Liv Pierce
Summary: Basically, this is my drabbles expanded into a multi-chaptered fic. The drabbles were in response to JDPhoenix's challenge and show Kelsi and Ryan's lives from ninth grade until some point in the future.
1. Friends

A/n: Alright, so this is a bit of an experiment. My response to JDPhoenix's challenge over on livejournal was twenty drabbles that were in sequence and for the most part related. I liked quite a few of them and wanted to expand on them. So I'm turning them into a longer, multi-chapter fic. Let me know what you think of it.

Disclaimer: If I owned HSM (1, 2 or 3), there is very little chance that I would still be using a pseudonym and writing fanfiction. Not that I don't love fanfiction or my readers, but would you blame me?

When Kelsi Neilson was twelve years old her life changed. Her parents didn't divorce, her mother didn't die, her father wasn't murdered.. No her family remained the same at twelve years old Kelsi met Sharpay and Ryan Evans. The Evans twins moved from Rhode Island to Albuquerque, New Mexico when their father was transferred to the dusty state.

The transition from their elite, upscale private school to East Albuquerque Middle School was nearly as much culture shock as it would have been had they transferred to Russia or some other country that didn't speak anything vaguely similar to English. The Evans twins were as different from their new classmates as sushi and yogurt. But there was one classmate who they could relate to on a very basic level. Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi were all tied together by their need to create.

Kelsi had been playing the piano since she was four years old. It had nothing to do with needing to expend extra energy (as was so often the explanation for putting children in gymnastics or sports), but more to do with the calm behavior of the four year old Miss Neilson. Kelsi, her mother noticed, was an exceptionally composed. The child could sit for hours listening as anyone willing would read to her and more often than not took the storybook from the reader's hands and trying out her newly discovered reading skills. Kelsi, it seemed, was always humming. Music was a vibrate part of the Neilson household and both her parents had been involved with music in various ways throughout their educational careers. Anita Neilson played piano, Mark Neilson a myriad of instruments. It was little wonder that little Kelsi would pick up the family hobby. When Anita saw that Kelsi was able to pick up Mary Had A Little Lamb easily on the piano, she knew her daughter had to have lessons.

Sharpay and Ryan had spent their young, formative years in the theatre. Neither of their parents had backgrounds in the arts (though their Felicia Evans did partake a in a handful of school productions) and yet drama and dance came naturally to the young blonds. Sharpay was a drama queen in diapers, while Ryan, his mother would recall fondly of her Duckie, was dancing before he could walk. There wasn't a calm, subtle bone in either of their bodies. Marshall Evans would often arrive at their matching cribs unsure of which twin need the most attention the fastest, simply because it seemed they seemed to be trying to out scream one another for attention. It was only natural that they both ended up on the stage—front and center—in their earliest grade school production.

It was also very natural that when the Evans twins transferred across the country from Rhode Island and found themselves sticking out more than a sore thumb, they found themselves drawn the short brunette who was as interested in composing and writing plays and musicals as Sharpay and Ryan were interested in performing in them. There was little more than drama club and band in middle school for the creative trio.

At twelve and thirteen (Kelsi was very young for her grade, nearly a month distancing her from the nearest classmate in age) and nearing the end of the eight grade year, Kelsi, Sharpay, and Ryan had all eyes forward to ninth grade, East High, and the drama club that was losing its president. Creative outlets abounded at East High, and each of the three hoped to use them to their advantage.

While they may have been tied together through their need for creativity, Kelsi and the twins were in no way the best of friends. Kelsi wasn't sure what, exactly, caused Sharpay to dislike her so, but she chalked it up to the simple fact that Sharpay rarely liked anyone. Other than Ryan, whom she seemed to have total control over, Troy Bolton was the only other person that Sharpay showed any sort of agreeableness to.

The end of eighth grade came and went, and with it Kelsi saw her hope of making friends dwindle to near nothing. She had never had much time for people when she had been younger, piano practice taking up what of her time wasn't absorbed with family activities (she may have been an only child, but her parents where nowhere near only, giving way to many gatherings and games with cousins). When the Evanses moved to town, Kelsi had a brief spark of hope that she'd make friends, but Sharpay nipped that in the bud with her attitude and behavior toward Kelsi. Ryan was nice enough, but had he been wearing a shock collar, Sharpay would have been holding the control.

Ninth grade started much the same as all the others. Her acquaintances (for her classmates were nice enough, they just didn't know her that well) acknowledged her existence with "hello" and "how was your summer", usual small talk made in the hallways between classes and during locker breaks. Classes were much as they had been in middle school, though they did expect far more homework than Kelsi was used to. Her favorite class, above and beyond all others, was free period. It was at this point in the day when she could make her way to the school practice room and play the piano as much and as loudly as she wanted.

It was here, during free period, that Kelsi first met the East High drama teacher, Ms. Darbus. The wildly flamboyant want-to-be actress had detoured through the practice room to reach the auditorium (and avoid the rowdy basketball players who were taking up the hallway space on her normal route) when she heard Kelsi playing.

"Be at the Drama meeting this afternoon, young lady. You're our new accompanist." It was much more a statement than either a question or a request. Darbus had a reputation for simply demanding and Kelsi had already learned through the grapevine that one simply did not deny Ms. Darbus anything that she demanded.

"Ye-yes, ma'm." She squeaked, wincing all the while at the horrible sound she made by hitting the wrong note at the sound of the older woman's voice.

The rest of the day flew by, as time was apt to do when one had a flock of butterflies flapping in one's stomach. When the three o'clock bell rang, Kelsi raced to her locker and then to the auditorium, eager, excited, and yet scared to death of what was waiting for her.

"Quiet. Quiet. QUIET." Ms. Darbus' voice rang out clearly as she all but screamed at the assembled group. Kelsi slumped in her seat, her already fearful brain jumping into over drive at the shrill sound that reminded her, oddly, of Sharpay's shrill, high pitched yelp.

"Welcome to the first meeting of East High's drama club. We are here to celebrate…" Kelsi tuned out as Ms. Darbus launched into a speech that she had obviously prepared and worked on to make as elaborate and elegant-like as possible. Kelsi wasn't there for any fluffy speech about the greatness and history of the art of drama. She was there to play and to play only. Her fingers were itching to touch the keys and make the noises that sounded so beautiful.

"…Ms. Neilson will join us as our accompanist." Kelsi sat upright as she hear her name, wanting to at least appear interested. "Ms. Neilson, if you would join me…" Darbus pointed to the spot beside her, indicating that Kelsi was to stand there. She scrambled from her seat and stood beside the towering woman. Adjusting her fedora, she noticed Sharpay and Ryan sitting front and center, and in Sharpay's case, paying rapt attention to the scarf clad Darbus. "For our Fall Musicale, we will be performing the Wizard of Oz. Auditions will be next week, flyers will go up tomorrow, and I will be pairing you all up now to work on a scene for your auditions. " With that, Ms. Darbus began surveying the group before her, pointing and calling names. "Mr. Evans and Ms. Neilson, please."

Disbelief covered three faces. Kelsi hadn't expected to have to have a partner, Sharpay had never been separated from her twin in any school related project, and Ryan couldn't believe that he would have the chance to be more in control of his own audition. The only one truly upset by the pairing was Sharpay.

"That is all." Darbus dismissed them abruptly, turning to the table that held her papers.

"Ms. Darbus!" Sharpay, demanded, rising from her seat and marching toward the drama teacher. "I must be paired with Ryan. We're twins and have always performed on stage best when together."

"Ms. Evans, I have my reasons for each pairing I made. They are final."

"But, Ms…"

"Final, Ms. Evans."

With a huff, Sharpay turned and stalked out of the auditorium, leaving Kelsi and Ryan in her dust.

"So…would you like to come over to work on that this weekend?" Ryan asked, a smirk playing on his lips, left over from watching his sister's leave.

"Come over?" Kelsi asked, confusion covering her face. In all ten years of her educational career, she had never been invited to anyone's house for any reason whatsoever.

"Yeah, to my house. We could work on our our scene and have it ready for practice on Monday."

"A-alright. When?" She asked, looking up at the male Evans.

"Saturday. Noon. See you then, Kels." The blond flashed a bright, white smile and left Kelsi stunned. Kels? That sounded like a name a friend would use. Was it possible that she had one? She smiled to herself and played a few notes on the piano. A friend.


	2. Why?

Disclaimer: You know the drill. If I owned HSM Jason Cross would have never helped Kelsi shoot a free throw in the first place.

"So Ryan told me that I should try changing the first B of the chorus to a B-flat and to step up the bass. He thought it would turn the whole thing around. I thought the piece was hopeless, but now it's going to be the opening number. He always knows how to take out the kinks and make something work. You should see the way he's got everyone dancing. He's not even the actual choreographer, but he's made the dances so much better. Mrs. Darbus should really think about letting him do a number or two on his own. He's good enough."

Kelsi had been talking non-stop from the front door of her house to the kitchen bar. She prattled on and on about Ryan, right up to the point that she settled down on a bar stool. She didn't notice that her mother was barely listening, paying more attention to the fruit she was washing than to her daughter's praise of Ryan Evans. It wasn't that she wasn't an attentive mother, or one who didn't care to hear about her daughter's day at school. No, she had simply heard it all before. It seemed that the only person Kelsi was capable of talking about for more than a couple of seconds was the young Mr. Evans. Mrs. Neilson had heard mention of Sharpay, Chad, Troy and Gabriella. She remembered a Taylor being mentioned, and a Zeke. But she heard the name Ryan ten times more often than any of the others.

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"Darling, who's this Kelsi girl, Ryan keeps going on about?"

"Vance, have you not been listening to Duckie?"

"I listen. He talks about her composing ability, the way she can put up with Princess, the way she can have any piece transposed in minutes. He brags on her quite a bit."

Derby nodded her head as her husband spoke. He had been listening, but she knew he was missing a key point. "Have you looked at Duckie when he says her name, Van?"

"Of course I look at the boy when he speaks. Do you think I'm too distracted to look at my own son?" Vance was getting a bit irritated at the tone his wife had taken on.

"Then tell me, what does he look like?"

"He looks like Ryan. He looks like me when I was his age."

"Van, honey, according to your mama, he looks just like you did at that age when you spoke about me."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"If he doesn't…if she won't…when will they…they had better soon…don't want them hurt…he needs a good support away from that sister of his…she needs a bit of extrovert in her life…why won't they face the truth that stared them in the face every single day at rehearsals? " Mrs. Darbus moved about the East High Auditorium, picking up trash and song books that had been left over from the day's activities and muttering incomplete sentences to herself. She had watched her composer and her best dancer yet again behave in a way that screamed "closer than close" and still stoutly ignore the fact. How often did she see any male extend so much courtesy and decorum to a female who was simply a platonic friend? How many females blushed crimson when complimented by said male? How many dual gendered sets of friends had the type of joking companionship those two exhibited? It was a rare thing forming between Ms. Neilson and Mr. Evans, she knew, and she also knew that if they didn't realize it soon enough they might lose what they had forever.

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"What's up with Ryan and Kelsi?"

"They like each other, Chad." Taylor responded in her best "duh" tone.

"Well, if they like each other why don't they just do something about it?" Chad asked, shaking his head in minor confusion, sending his curls bouncing.

Taylor sighed and closed the book she had been trying to read.

"Chad, sweetie, not all guys are as direct as you. Just because when you have a basketball in your hand you can say or do anything without fear of consequences, doesn't mean that all guys at East High can do that. Most guys require more than a basketball to gain confidence."

"I still think he should just go for it. She obviously likes him too."

Taylor ignored her lunk-head, basketball man boyfriend's comment, too busy marveling in her own thoughts. If it was that obvious to Chad, how was it not obvious to the couple in question?

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They didn't know it, but all their friends whispered it behind their backs. Her parents asked each other as they lay in bed at night. His parents discussed it on the flight to their next destination. Mrs. Darbus muttered it to herself after rehearsal ended. Why? Why weren't the two of them together yet? When would they realize they were both crazy about each other? When would they see what everyone else saw? Would they ever clear through their fogs and see what was as clear as day to everyone else? Why hadn't the piano player and the choreographer done anything about their mutual attraction?

A/n: So, this one was a little harder to expand on, simply because it had so little Ryan and Kelsi actually in it. I did enjoy writing Mr. and Mrs. Evans. They seem like the type to love each other very much, but also annoy each other easily (sort of how I see Chad and Taylor). Thanks for the reviews from the first chapter. They mean a lot!


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